Making Magick: What it is and how it works

340 Pages·1997·64.5 MB·English

by  Edain McCoy

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The Definitive Guide to Natural Magick
The magickal world is one of infinite possibilities, limited only
by your own imagination. Whether you are a Witch of long
standing, or are relatively new to the Craft, Making Magick will
show you how to make natural magick a vital and rewarding
part of your life.
Modern Witches still use magick in much ~he same way,
and for many of the same reasons, as our ancestors did. They
use what nature has provided to cast spells for healing, love,
and prosperity. Making Magick clearly and simply reveals the
techniques of natural magick, from the most basic concepts to
more advanced practices, all the while building on what has
gone before to give you the understanding and confidence
essential to success.
Safe, simple, and effective, natural magick uses your own
energy and simple items from nature as catalysts for mani
festing love, security, health, protection, knowledge, and fer
tility. Discover the magickal way to live your life in harmony
with the elemental forces of the natural ,-vorld.
Making Magick offers simple hands-on exercises and expert
advice for exploring and refining your magickal abilities.
Learn how you can establish a personal connection to the ele
ments and bring their power into your day-to-day life. Make
talismans, create your own rituals, and experience the reali
ties of astral prqjection and psychic self-defense from a dis
tinctly Pagan perspective.
"Edain McCoy's Making Magick is the latest contribution
from the pen of a prolific writer. Accessible, incisive, and
excellent-packed with original concepts concerning con
temporary magickal operations-including guidelines for
adapting the magical tattwas for Wiccan/Pagan use."
Dr. Jonn Mumford
author of The Magical Tottwa Cards
and Ecstasy Through Tantra
About the Author
Edain McCoy became a self-initiated Witch in 1981, and has
been an active part of the Pagan community since her formal
initiation into a large San Antonio coven in 1983. She has been
researching alternative spiritualities since her teens when she
was first introduced to Kaballah (Jewish mysticism). Today she
is a part of the Wittan Irish Pagan 'Itadition and is a Priestess of
Brighid within that tradition. An alumnus of the University of
Texas (B.A. in history), she currently pursues part-time gradu
ate and undergraduate studies at Indiana University. Edain has
taught classes in guided meditation and automatic writing, and
occasionally works with students who wish to study Wiccan
and Celtic Witchcraft. She is an ordained minister of the Uni
versal Life Church, a member of the Indiana Historical Society,
the Authors Guild, the Wiccan/ Pagan Press Alliance, and is a
former woodwind player for the Lynchburg (VA) symphony. A
descendant of the infamous feuding McCoy family of Ken
tucky, Edain also proudly claims as a forefather Sir Roger
Williams, the seventeenth-century religious dissenter.
To Write to the Author
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Edain McCoy
c;o Llewellyn Worldwide
P.O. Box 64383, Dept. K670-X
St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, U.S.A.
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what j t • s
l
and how works
it
E d a i n McCoy
1997
Llewellyn Publications
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0383, U.S.A.
Making Magick 1997 by Edain McCoy. All rights reserved.
©
Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book
may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission from Llewellyn Publications except in the
case ofb rief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
FIRST EDITION
Second Printing, 1997
Cover Design by Anne Marie Garrison
Editing and Book Design by Rebecca Zins
Permission granted to quote 'Techniques of High Magic by
Francis King and Stephen Skinner, published by Destiny
Books, an imprint of Inner Traditions International,
Rochester, VT 05767. Copyright ©1976, 1991 Francis King and
Stephen Skinner.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCoy, Edain, 1957-
Making Magick: what it is and how it works/ Edain
McCoy.-lst ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56718-670-X (trade paper)
1. Magic. I. Title.
BFl 611.M39 1997
133.4'3-dc21 97-20979
CIP
Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any
authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions
between our authors and the public.
All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher can
not, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or
phone number.
Llewellyn Publications
A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.
PO. Box 64383, Dept. K670-X
St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, U.S.A.
If someone gives you a spell
you can make successful magick once.
If someone shows you how to analyze spell
structure and to construct your own spells,
you not only can make magick forever;
but you will become magick as well.
Other Books by Edain McCoy
Witta: An Irish Pagan Tradition
A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk
The Sabbats
How to Do Automatic Writing
Celtic Myth and Magick
Mountain Magick
Lady of the Night
Entering the Summerland
Inside a Witches' Coven
Forthcoming
Celtic Women's Spirituality
Contents
Prefa ce . . . viii
Acknowledgments ... x
Introduction
The Magi,ck of the Witch ... xi
1. Natural Magick and How It Works ... 1
2. Developing Magickal Skills ... 21
3. Connecting with the Elements ... 45
4. Spell Construction, Casting, and Timing ... 91
5. A Sampler of Spells ... 125
6. Pagan Ritual Magick . .. 139
7. Psychic Self-Defense ... 1 71
8. Tuchniques of Advanced Natural Magick ... 195
9. Astral Magi ck . . . 207
10. Elemental Magick Through the Tottwas ... 225
Afterword
Living a Magi,ckal Life ... 265
Appendix A
Magi,ckal Catalysts and Correspondences . .. 269
Appendix B
Resources ... 276
Appendix C
Just For Fun: A "Tust" of Craft Knowledge ... 283
Glossary ... 301
Bibliography .. . 311
Index ... 315
Preface
The
magickal arts continue to intrigue today's Witches as
much as they did Witches of yesteryear. It is rare that a week
passes when someone does not ask me questions-either in
person or via the mail-about specific techniques of natural
magick. Since I became involved in the Craft in 1980, I have
discovered that the questions of newcomers vary little from
year to year; the same information is always sought by those
embarking upon this path.
Do I need tools to make magick work? Which tools do I
need the most? How do I learn to visualize? How do I raise
and send energy? What are words of power? How do I know if
I am using the right words? Can I use a fire-ruled herb in a
love spell? How about a water-ruled herb in a protection spell?
What guidelines can help me decide which is which? How do
I find spells, and how do I know they are constructed correct
ly? How do I make my own spells? Are my own spells as good
as those I find in other people's spell books? What happens if I
make a mistake? Why do I need to keep written magickal
records? What about the moon's role in magick? How do I
know if I am violating someone's free will? What is psychic
self-defense and how do I achieve it? I-low do I astral project,
and how do I work magick on the astral plane? What is the
role of the elements in magick? What is sex magick all about?
Is there such a thing as advanced natural magick, and how
does it work?
I wrote Making Magick in response to these questions. By
the time you finish working through it from cover to cover, I
sincerely hope that you wil1 have all the answers to your ques
tions about basic natural magick-and about some of the
advanced techniques as well. But having magickal knowledge
is only a small part of being a successful Witch. The focus and
...
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